Uncommon Cold
by Gray Aibou
Summary: While transporting some titanium to a freezing cold moon planet, Cliff catches the cold. Nel stays back without the others to look after him. Cliff x Nel...Odd, Isn't it?...Pure Fluff.


……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Clinel…Niff? LOL. Whatever you wanna call it. Well maybe it's not…but neh

I sorta wrote a story similar to this a couple of years ago. Then deleted it because…Well I don't know why I did. Now I've posted my _updated _version for your liking.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**-Uncommon Cold-**

**.-.**

The cold was particularly striking this time of year on Dioylak IX. Due to the small moon being behind its mother planet for most of the century its temperatures made it dark, dreary, and unbearable cold for foreigners. So tourists, if one would say, did not come often.

But Fayt and the group had to drop off some cargo at the trading ports and stay for two days. So sorely and coldly they took a small couple of rooms in the motel, clutching their arms tightly as they began to numb.

The sky was always a very dark grey, with some lighter clouds underneath it. They were wispy, thick, heavy but never fluffy. Just depressing. The snow was always falling at a very heavy rate, the thick flurry of white landing on the rooftops by the tones. So the supports had to be _very _strong, therefore they needed abundance of titanium. This is what the group was transporting to the dreary planet

Cliff raised one foot very slowly, and then crunched his boots into the knee high snow in a very slow and daunting sequence. He gritted his teeth and the battering winds and rolled his eyes.

"It's taking us half an hour to walk to the motel" He muttered as he rubbed his freezing shoulders with his gloves. It was thin material, far too thin. His teeth chattered as he walked forward.

And then Albel just strode past, unscathed by the cold as if making an 'I-am-_so­_-tougher-than-you' statement. Fayt and Sophia raised their eyes upwards cautiously as they put one arm on each other's shoulders. Bracing themselves from the freezing winds, they looked at Cliff's reaction.

He bit his upper lip angrily and kept walking. If one was close to him they probably would have heard him say a _very bad _word. His blonde hair was thrown back slightly as an even stronger gust of wind pushed against his sturdy frame. He took another step as he saw the motel in the distance, silhouetted darkly with glowing pink lanterns on its sides.

"Score!" He shouted as he ran forwards, still holding his shoulders. He darted straight past Albel and through the snowy terrain eagerly then he stood in front of the beautiful motel and sighed as it blocked off the wind slightly. He smirked as the colour and warmth returned to his shoulders. He leant against the soft wooden wall with a short sigh of relief. The others walked past him; heads face down as Albel kicked open the wooden door roughly and stepped inside.

Cliff stayed outside for a couple of seconds, staring at the carving and intricate designs of the structure. Most of it was made out of wood, a thick wooden roof laced with insulation and other things. The only part that looked modern was the eight pillars of titanium holding it up. He opened the brass door knob absent mindedly, and greeted the surge of warmth happily. His golden eyes flickered over the inside, which looked beautiful. Like a cozy little shack or cottage. Paintings were pinned on the wall, crafted wooden shelves bearing unique ornaments of stone and other assorted pieces. There was a wooden counter, behind it files and papers with strange writing symbols upon it. At the counter was a native, he had pale blue flesh and pure orange eyes. He had long nails, almost like claws and black hair. He was wearing a navy blue vest and cargo-like pants. His ears were pointed, and he had a long scaled tail protruding out of the end of his back.

Fayt approached the counter panting slightly, putting his hands down and leaning over with a heaving chest.

"A…room. Under the name of Leingod" He said, his eyes glimmering tiredly. The native looked at him politely, and then turned around. His thin nails flicking through the files quickly. Cliff could see some of the writing, just wriggly lines with spots. He looked over as he saw movement; Nel had just pulled a wool hat over her eyes in the corner. Her crimson feather cut hair sticking out from underneath

"Ah yes" the native rasped. "Room number 63" He told them, handing Fayt a piece of paper with squiggly lines. "It'll look like this"

Fayt nodded; far too tired to get into conversation he marched past the counter and up three stairs. Then down the hall with the others as they went to get a room

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It took them half an hour to _find _the room, To Albel's dismay and utter fury

The night came, even though no one could tell the different for a few hours. Dioylak went almost pitch black, but they could hear the wind grow far stronger and menacing. There was a sign on the back of their door clearly saying _DO NOT GO OUTSIDE AT NIGHT_. Mirage told them that sometimes the winds grew so strong after hours it could rip your every fiber into a thousand pieces. The same pink light hung on chandeliers in their room, casting them all into a dark scarlet. Sophia, Fayt and Maria went to be as soon as they got there, while the others sat around table playing cards for a few more hours. Listening to the barbaric winds rattle the bars and metal shutters keeping them out

And then they turned off the lights, and slept long and wearily.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

They couldn't tell at all whether day had come or not. It was still dark, but the winds had slowed slightly. They could hear footsteps in the corridors of natives going down to breakfast. Sophia thought it would be a good idea to go down, so she and Fayt left quite quickly.

Cliff woke up groggily, pulling off the amazingly wooly and warm covers. He unscrewed his eyes slightly as he stepped over to the mirror. For a second he hung his head tiredly, trying to clear his mind. His head felt like a brick and his throat sore, he stared up at the mirror absently

And stared back at his pale face, the dark area around his weak eyes. The only colour in his face a small flush of bright red in his cheeks. He turned away and gave a haggard sneeze

"Oh great" He said coldly as he collapsed backwards onto the bed, his arms wide and his eyes closed. He turned over meekly and wriggled under the covers as he felt his blood run through his veins like ice. He was freezing, and then it dawned on him

He had the cold

He grabbed the pillow blindly and clamped it over his head, shivering slightly. He knew where he got it from, this shitty freezing cold good for nothing planet. He trembled slightly and tried to stay perfectly still, ignoring the violent shudders going up and down his spine.

The door creaked open; he could tell it was Nel from her soft footsteps. She stared at the lump under the bed covers and rolled her eyes.

"Come on we have to take this cargo-"

"-Sssh" He said muffled from under the blankets and pillows. She rose and eyebrow and placed her hands on her hips.

"I don't care if you have a hangover-"

"-It's not a hangover, I have the cold" The soft voice said quietly. She narrowed her eyes.

"You're not getting out of this"

Cliff sighed and kicked the blanket away and sat up abruptly, letting her see his sickly face.

"I have the Friggen cold" He said pronouncing each syllable clearly. She stared intently at his weak features, his almost white face. A look of sympathy crossed her eyes

She gave a gruff sigh "I'll go tell the others"

Cliff groaned and turned over again, his fingertips numbly throbbing.

He lay there for a few minutes, his head banging as if someone was smacking it with an anvil. He suddenly got up and rushed into the bathroom near him, hacking up the contents of his stomach

"I'm staying here as well" She told him 'matter-of-factly'. "We don't want you taking us for a ride"

"_Yeah I just faked the whole vomit thing_" He thought from under the covers

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A few hours past, in which he slept horribly. His breathing was labored and he had broken out in a sweat even though he was chilled like a fridge. Time passed quickly as he slept turning and tossing in the covers and becoming tangled so much that he thought maybe their DNAs could have merged.

The door opened once more, he smirked to himself as he defined her footsteps again.

He heard a chair being dragged across the room to his bed and he stopped breathing so he could hear well. He listened intently, eyes closed

"Sit up" She ordered him quietly.

"Why-"

"Do it" She said abruptly, ending the argument

He rolled over again and pulled the blanket down slightly, opening one eye lazily to see Nel sitting down on a wooden chair next to the bed. One leg folded elegantly over the other, she held a small china bowl with a small line of steam rising past her face.

"Sit up" She repeated rather bluntly, her eyes flickering teasingly.

He sat up, propped against the bed head. "I'm not hungry, I feel sick"

"You need to eat something…Trust me"

He opened his mouth to smartly protest, but she gave him a death glare and he choked on his words. She held out the bowl, staring at him silently.

He gave a sigh of defeat and grabbed the hot bowl, resting it on his bent upwards knees. A small spoon rested upon the rim of the bowl, he eyed it cautiously

_Uh oh…Pea and ham_

"Eat the damn soup!" Nel half shouted at the stubborn Cliff, who looked at her innocently.

"Fine" he muttered as he dipped the spoon into the greenish-yellow soup and took a mouthful. He forced it down his throat and looked at her, who looked back expectantly. Her wool top rose up past her next, making her look ominous. He cowered slightly and began to eat the soup faster until it was all gone.

He dropped the spoon in the bowl and sniffled. "Done"

She smiled sweetly "Wasn't that hard was it"

He looked at her disapprovingly and slid down slowly onto his back. "Can I go back to sleep now"

"Whatever you want" She told him as she left the room, clutching the bowl with a satisfied smile on her face.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cliff could tell it was night time because -

1. He heard the other return and make as much noise as Humanely or Klausianely possible as they prepared dinner, He could hear Albel shouting at Maria over something like 'It's called a KATANA! Not a sword!'

2. It had become freezing cold and the wind was roaring like a beast on the thick windows

He lay there, trying to shut out any noise. He wondered why they all had to clatter about so loudly, he felt sick, cold, annoyed, tired, in pain (Because of his headache) and he very much considered drinking a bottle of cyanide. Then it occurred to him he had to get up, so he shrugged it off.

Finally everything began to dull down some more, and finally the others were silent. Somehow the wind began to grow softer in his ears and a relaxed sleep came over him.

So after sleeping silently for two hours, it became about 8.00 pm and the others were playing cards and chatting absent mindedly. They didn't even notice Nel get up and make hot chocolate

"Think he's faking it?" Fayt said as he peered down at his cards emotionlessly.

Sophia and Albel both said 'Yes' and 'No' at the exact same time, sharing an awkward glance at each other. Albel gritted his teeth as he looked at his hand of cards again

"I know Cliff" Mirage said softly as she hid a surge of glee at her cards "He would have come out to dinner even if he was faking it. He's definitely sick"

The others nodded as Nel stepped into Cliff's room silently, holding a cup of hot chocolate

"Cliff?" She said shoving his shoulder gently as she listened to his steady breaths.

"Yes…" He muttered in his waking sleep

"I brought you a hot drink"

He slowly sat up again tiredly "Thanks" he reached out, shaking only ever so slightly and grabbed the cup. He sipped it, letting the warm liquid ran down his parched and saw throat

"Mmmm…Chocolate" He said gently. He looked up at Nel, who was glancing at him casually.

"Thanks"

"No problem"

They sat silently for a few seconds, Nel rubbing the back of her head tiredly. She waited until he was done and took the cup lightly

"Goodnight" She told him

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Everyone had gone to bed when Nel crept out into the kitchen and then into Cliff's room. She closed the door soundlessly and made sure no one could hear her footsteps, she knew Cliff was amazingly good at that.

She watched him breath for a few moments, his chest rising and falling mechanically. His top fluttering

Breath. Flutter. Breath. Flutter. A never ending cycle, she made sure he was asleep and then…

She smiled, pushing away a strand of red crimson hair from her face. Then she leant over, hands behind her back and kissed him on the forehead.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The next day Cliff was recovering from his cold fine, and they were departing in the afternoon. The climax of his illness had left, and he was on a steady road to recovery. He even joined them at breakfast, ignoring the concerned looks he received

"All ready to go?" Maria asked them as Sophia finally finished nibbling on her piece of toast. Mirage rolled her eyes

"Yep" Cliff said quite determinedly, repressing a cough.

Everyone looked at him for a few moments at how he had recovered

And Albel sneezed

-αιвσυ

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Like it?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


End file.
